More bad news for magazines.

Not that they were doing fabulously before today (Even the great O and Hearst had to close one), but Conde Nast will be shutting down four magazines – Cookie, Gourmet, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. I really liked Gourmet (I guess I’ll always have Bon Appetit) and I leafed through Cookie every now and then (though I often thought, “Who pays such ridiculous prices for clothing that will be outgrown by little people in less than a year?”). Domino and Portfolio were closed earlier this year, and I don’t think this will be the last of the closings because word has it that the magazine is down about 8000 pages of advertising in the past year. Since advertising is the business that makes the journalism show possible, this is not good news at all. There are plans for Conde Nast to be involved in a hulu-ish business that will bundle publications online, but will people pay for what they are used to seeing for free, especially in America, especially in these economic times? I’m not sure about that.